Date: Thu, 18 Sep 2003 19:56:38 +0800 From: Raymond <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: Re: [LIB] Hardware failure on 110CT
At 04:21 AM 18/09/2003 -0700, you wrote:
Date: Thu, 18 Sep 2003 13:14:19 +0200 From: "T. Ribbrock" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: Hardware failure on 110CT
Hi all,
Hi Thomas
I just joined this list, but I already have a rather major problem with my Libretto 110CT: Within two weeks of buying it, it developped a hardware failure.
Welcome! Sorry to hear that your first experience with your libby was a hardware failure ...
Sometimes it will start up normally, in other cases only the harddrive will start up, while the display stays black and there is no reaction to any key or even the power button. It does react to the reset button, though that will only get to the same point again.
Ouch!
The fact, that I can get it to boot up by slightly tapping on the case points to some kind of loose contact. This was confirmed yesterday, when the machine crashed when I tried to move the display. The problems occurr on battery as well as on mains and are independend of any PCMCIA cards. They also happen with or without docking station.
What do the indicator lights say at this point? If that error happens and the power light flashes orange chances are you've got a short somewhere (or at least something drawing way too much current). Otherwise it might be more likely to be some sort of logical error. When it crashed, did it go back to a black screen or did it just do a plain crash (with error message, etc. but screen still on)?
One thing that might be useful is the L100/110 service manual, check the archives for links to it (about 2 meg worth of zipped PDF IIRC) ... even if you've got a hardware background, that manual will be useful when you take it apart (it'll save you from wondering "Have I missed a screw or is it really supposed to be this hard to pull this open"!) ... it also has details of a little parallel port dongle (obviously only of use with the docking station!) that will give you boot-time diagnostic output by pulling lines high or low (I think it's just a few LEDs linked to the output lines of the parallel port, in a pinch you could probably cobble something up and stick it into the parallel port). Figuring out at what point in the boot sequence your libby is dying would certainly be of help to you ... the diagnostics start from "Register initialization for boot block" through "HDD initialization" and ends at "System ROM check" so if it's dying between spinning up the hard drive and loading the OS, chances are this test will at least show you where to look next ...
I have access to SMD soldering equipment and I have an electronics background, so I'm not afraid to try and fix this (especially, as I a) like this machine and b) spare-parts are so expensive). However, if anybody on the list has any experiences with such an endeavour, I'd really appreciate some hints.
As far as pulling this thing apart is concerned, as long as you follow the steps in the manual (or at least have them in mind - IIRC there are some relatively safe shortcuts to be had), you'll be fine. Just remember that the circuit board is quite delicate so don't trap things between the spacers and the board on reassembly (which would end up flexing the board) ... also remember that there are several screws that differ by length only, putting the wrong one in the wrong place could be quite a problem!
One other thing, if you've looked on the net for pictures of the insides of this thing (a few that come to mind include mine at www.raybot.net with a few shots of the PS/2 controller and whatnot, David Chien's webpage at www.silverace.com/libretto with some of the clock circuit for overclocking, and Xin Feng's webpage at www.fixup.net), remember that there are at least *two* revisions of this board (I think the changes are limited to the 'back' of the board though).
Finally, if you *do* manage to short something out, as long as it isn't in the circuit powered by the backup battery or permanently connected to the system battery (oh ya, don't forget to disconnect that and the microphone cables before pulling the top off!), the laptop's overcurrent protection trips in what seems to be a relatively safe amount of time (and the power light flashes orange) so in that respect you're at least partially covered (or rather, I've tripped that a few times at different places and my libby is still alive - YMMV of course!) ...
Good luck, keep us posted on what happens!
- Raymond
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